Teachers are urging parents to ban their children accessing social media as they issue a warning about staying safe online.

Ramsgate Arts Primary School says the risks of children being exposed to strangers, bullying and inappropriate content is behind an e-safety campaign it is running.

Leaders are now writing to families appealing to help the Newington school's stance on restricting children's use to specific websites.

Children in Year 6 were asked about their experiences online and the school says it revealed some "worrying answers".

Responses showed some children had been exposed to hate comments, random follow requests, inappropriate advertising and viruses in messages from unknown contacts.

The results found children are using a wide range of sites including Snapchat, Facebook, Instagram, WhatsApp and TikTok.

Facebook, Instagram and Snapchat all have age restrictions of 13-years-old but messaging network WhatsApp is meant to be restricted to people over 16.

The school's campaign includes teaching children about how to use the internet safely with lessons about using social media and online games, holding special assemblies and talks about particular issues.

Cyber bullying and teaching pupils about how to act respectfully towards others also feature in the school's programme.

The school is also asking parents to cut their children's access to social media with profiles not advised for youngsters under 13.

Nick Budge, head of school, says the restrictions are applied for good reason and the school is reminding parents and carers the sites are inappropriate for young children.

He added: "In today’s modern world the use of social media is somewhat inevitable for young people as they grow into teenagers.

"There are benefits to using social media, such as communication with distant relatives or friends.

"However, we remind parents and carers that social media is not advised for children below age 13, and age restrictions apply to social media accounts for good reason.

"The use of social media by under age children is increasingly a nationwide issue, with many children being exposed to risks such as contact with strangers, significant emotional risk, social conflict, hacking of personal information and data and exposure to inappropriate content.

"We want to ensure that pupils understand, value and utilise online safety strategies to help keep them safe."

Hanna Beech, the deputy head of school, asked two questions about the social media sites children use and experiences of using social media.

Ms Beech said: "Our children’s safety is paramount. The responses were honest and gave us a focussed snapshot on what some of them are exposed to online.

"With this in mind, we ask all parents to reflect on the access their children have to social media and consider carefully monitoring the use of mobile phones, tablets and computers."

Figures from the NSPCC reveal on average at least one child in every class across the south east received a naked or semi-naked image online from an adult.

The survey involved 40,000 youngsters and the charity is running its own campaign - called Wild West Web - to make the internet safer for children.

A spokesman for the NSPCC said: “Keeping children safe online is a huge challenge and we encourage both parents and teachers to talk regularly with children about how to keep them safe online, along with the potential risks they may be exposed to.

"We are urging government to introduce tougher regulation of social media sites, backed by hefty fines if they fail."

The charity has also developed an app called Net Aware, which is a parental guide to social networks and is available in all major app stores.

For more information about keeping children safe online visit www.internetmatters.org contact the school on 01843 582847 or call the NSPCC helpline on 0808 800 5000.

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